It’s clear that thanks to technology and the Internet, all businesses are becoming global. That’s what Linda Bi, President of Chicago Expert Importers (CEI) says in the Chicago Sun-Times article (6/28/15). CEI is a top importer of casting components in the mobile home/RV axle manufacturing industry. Over the years, Bi expanded the business into areas including, but not limited to: sporting goods and forklift- and school-bus components, to importing parts to also providing sourcing, logistics and warehousing and distribution, leading the 17-employee company to $40 million in yearly revenue — a sixfold increase from where it stood when Bi’s husband died 15 years ago. Bi’s tip for success: “Accept and deal with the challenges.”

Screenshot: Shea Soucie, co-owner of Soucie Horner, Ltd. (Chicago)

Shea Soucie is another prime example of women leading the charge in global trade. Soucie is co-owner of the custom residential design firm Soucie Horner, Ltd., at 208 W. Kinzie St. in River North (Chicago), started a new business, SHIIR to import fine rugs and decorative carpets and sell them across the country and worldwide. The company started exporting in 2013 to specific clients, such as a hotel in Delhi, India, and a super-yacht that travels the world. Soucie’s tip for success: “Look for female mentors in groups like the Women Presidents’ Organization — womenpresidentsorg.com.”

In the same Chicago Sun-Times article, WEGG is mentioned:

Only 12 percent of businesses that export are owned by women, which shows there’s room for growth, says Laurel Delaney, Executive Director of Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global, a new nonprofit organization that aims to boost the number of women business owners in exporting.

WEGG Mission

Our mission is to educate women business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide on how to go global so they can run healthier businesses and create a new future for themselves, their families and their community.